Boris Johnson: 'The state has a duty' to protect black cabs from 'unfair' Uber competition

Boris
Johnson and Mike Bloomberg being interviewed by Walter Isaacson
at City Lab London 2015.Oscar
Williams-Grut/Business Insider

Boris Johnson says the government has a "duty" to help London's
black cab drivers in the face of competition from Uber, rather
than simply leave them at the mercy of the free market.

Speaking at the City Lab London conference on Monday, the Mayor
of London signalled that he would do his best to help black cab
drivers, who have been
locked in a bitter battle with Uber since it launched in
London in 2012.

Johnson said: "Since the days of Oliver Cromwell the Hackney
Carriage has been regulated by government. If the state is going
to do that then I think it has a duty to manage that transition
[the rise of Uber]."

"The fundamental distinction between a black cab and a minicab
has been obliterated by technology. It's unfair on the black cabs
who have consecrated their lives to the study of routes and have
special vehicles. In return for that expenditure they have been
told that they alone can ply for jobs on the streets."

Black cab drivers must pass a notoriously difficult test known as
the "knowledge" that requires them to commit London's entire road
system to memory. The built-in satnav in Uber's app effectively
destroys this traditional advantage.

And, most aggravating to black cab drivers, the app allows people
to effectively "hail" a minicab on the street through the app,
rather than book through a central office over the phone. By
law, black cab drivers are meant to be the only people who can
pick up jobs on the street.

Johnson said: "The question is, how do you strike a balance that
respects what's happened to the cab drivers and tries to help
them where you can, but also reflects the fact that technology is
out there? You can't put the genie back in the bottle. I think
there are more than a million people in London who now have the
app."

Johnson and regulator Transport for London (TfL) have been
accused by black cab drivers of being too lenient on Uber and
favouring the service. Black cab drivers recently
had to be ejected from City Hall by police following
anti-Uber protests and blockaded the roads outside.

Johnson signalled that the laws governing the cab industry need
reforming, saying: "I'm striking a balance. What we've got is a
law that is archaic and not fit for a world in which you can
hail a minicab without the minicab even seeing you. You can just
push a button on your Uber app.

"That to my mind is as good as hailing it and seeing it. However,
that's not what the law says. It says in order to hail a cab
you've got to see it and stand out in the street."